FL Chapter 59

What his father intended to convey was that one shouldn’t work like thugs in today’s world—a message Kangwoo had heard excessively since high school.

His grandfather had eyed Kangwoo for a long time. If his grandson were to inherit this work that his son did not, there could be nothing better.

Moreover, Seo Kangwoo had shown the signs for it from a young age. His characteristics of cruelty and violence would make him unable to live like a normal person. When his grandfather actually taught him the ways of it, seeing Kangwoo’s lack of hesitation in any of the given tasks confirmed his conviction. Perhaps he might even favor Kangwoo over his weak son.

“Oh my, Kangwoo, did you have your graduation ceremony?”

“It’s tomorrow. But I probably won’t attend.”

“Well, university graduation ceremonies aren’t that important, right? Anyway, congratulations on graduating.”

“Thank you.”

Kangwoo smiled at his stepmother, who was happily chatting. The stepmother, who had married his father three years ago, was more amiable to Kangwoo than his two older brothers. It might be because Kangwoo, as a university student, was more comfortable to talk to than his brothers, who were married with children. Even though the other family members felt quite uncomfortable around Kangwoo.

At that moment, Kangwoo’s phone vibrated. He took it out, and checked the sender. As he received everyone’s attention, he bowed his head slightly and stood up from his seat.

“I’ll take a call and be back.”

His grandfather nodded. As Kangwoo left the annex, he glanced back at his phone screen.

[Heewoon]

Kangwoo answered the call as soon as he stepped out.

–Hello?

“Yes, Sunbae.”

A gentle smooth voice flowed through the phone. He smiled as if finding his own voice amusing.

–Can I go to the department store to buy a gift for my aunt?

“…?”

–Kangwoo?

When he gave no response, Heewoon called him a bit anxiously. Kangwoo sighed and sat on a garden stone.

“You just went straight to the point. Isn’t that quite the rude call?”

–Ah…

Kangwoo touched the cold, rough stones, vividly picturing Heewoon’s face in his mind. Perhaps unsure of what to do, his eyebrows might have slightly furrowed, his eyes rolling here and there, and his soft lips twitching uncertainly, not knowing what to say.

-What… were you doing?

It sounded like a hesitant question after much contemplation. Kangwoo turned his head and smiled slightly.

“I was having dinner with my family at my grandfather’s house.”

–I see.

As Kangwoo remained silent, Heewoon added another sentence.

–Was it delicious?

It was a phrase Kangwoo often said to Heewoon, but it was the first time Heewoon said it to Kangwoo. Kangwoo chuckled softly. Having his head down and smiling for a while, he spoke.

“Yes, it was delicious.”

Thinking of Heewoon’s round, twinkling eyes, Kangwoo decided to help him a bit.

“So you’re going to buy a gift for your aunt?”

–Yeah. She has helped me a lot before.

“Alright. Then I’ll pick you up later.”

–Later?

“It’s very cold today.”

It was an unusually warm day for spring. However, Kangwoo said it with a straight face.

–Yeah. Then, I’ll call you.

“Okay.”

Giving a gentle response, Kangwoo grinned happily.

 

 

Having hung up the phone, Heewoon thought for a moment. He initially didn’t want to wear a scarf, but since Kangwoo said it’s going to be cold, he decided it was necessary. He put on the scarf and glanced at his mother, who was taking a nap, before heading outside. After checking if there were any watchful eyes around, he walked a bit and then took a taxi.

Only after getting in the taxi did Heewoon realize that he had taken it unnecessarily. It wasn’t busy, so he could have taken the bus.

His stiff body, which had been awkwardly frozen, leaned against the backrest. Because it was cold today… Turning his head to look out the window, Heewoon lowered the scarf a bit but soon took it off completely and stuffed it into his backpack.

Due to a traffic jam, he got off a block before his intended stop. He thought about taking out the scarf again, but the weather was unexpectedly warm, so he decided not to. While walking, Heewoon even took off his padded jacket. The weather must be a bit crazy.

Now, it felt like it would be twice the cold when it got cold again. Heewoon was a bit worried about that.

He neatly folded the padded jacket and put it in his backpack. Bringing the backpack was a good decision. He had no choice but to bring the backpack since it was the only bag he had.

Inside the department store was extremely crowded. After carefully inspecting cosmetics and perfumes on the first floor, he went up to the second floor, the women’s clothing section. Soon, he noticed scarves.

Although he just lingered in front of them for a moment, a salesperson quickly approached with a friendly face.

“What are you looking for? A gift for your mother?”

“It’s for my aunt.”

“How old is she?”

“She’s in her 50s.”

“Well… This one is the most popular. This one is also good…”

The employee took out several scarves and laid them out. Heewoon, feeling flustered, quickly moved his eyes away. He just wanted to look. And when he checked the price tags, all of them were well over 100,000 won. Paying more than 100,000 won for a piece of cloth felt too expensive.

“Spring is coming soon, so having one of these would be really nice.”

“Yes…”

Heewoon nodded and examined the scarves more closely. It wasn’t that he got persuaded by the salesperson’s words, but because each piece of cloth cost over 100,000 won.

Seo Kangwoo, who didn’t even pay much attention to tuition fees over a million won, would consider this amount trivial. So, without hesitation, Heewoon chose one and asked for it to be wrapped. Suddenly, he thought of his mother.

In the end, Heewoon bought two scarves. It cost close to 250,000 won, but Heewoon wasn’t nervous. Instead, he felt a bit of elation.

He sent the scarf to his aunt through delivery. It seemed like loan sharks were still keeping an eye on him, so avoiding meeting his aunt in person was a good idea.

He felt a brief moment of sadness but quickly recovered. Sending 2 million won to the loan shark every month was no longer difficult. It seemed like Seo Kangwoo would continue to be with him in the future, so he would still be receiving money for the next few months. Heewoon could also keep using the card. Even if Kangwoo suddenly stopped sending money, he had some saved up, so it was okay.

Even after getting a job, if Seo Kangwoo continued to send money, he would be able to save 500,000 won per month for several months. If he could keep using the card, he could save even more. It might take a while, but paying off the debt didn’t seem impossible. It wasn’t a futile hope, it became a fairly realistic calculation. Moreover, his older brother would be back soon.

Apart from occasionally feeling a pang in his chest when he saw his mother’s face and a sense of anxiety that something was going wrong, everything was quite peaceful.

***

Heewoon wandered around the department store a bit more before calling Kangwoo. He said it would take about 40 minutes for him to come. Heewoon went into a cafe inside the department store and ordered a warm drink and cake.

He spent over 10,000 won just because he had to wait for 40 minutes. Heewoon glanced at the receipt for a moment and then threw it into the trash.

As he was about to finish the drink and cake, he received a call from Kangwoo. After hearing that Kangwoo was in the parking lot, Heewoon quickly finished the remaining cake in one bite, tidied up the table, nodded to the part-time worker, and headed towards the parking lot.

The parking lot was slightly chilly, so Heewoon fidgeted a bit as he searched for Kangwoo’s car and quickly got in.

Then, his shoulders were pulled in, and he was hugged. A large hand squeezed his shoulder, and Kangwoo spoke.

“You must be very cold.”

The parking lot might be cold, but outside it wasn’t. Heewoon glanced at the bulging backpack with his scarf and padding inside.

“You’re only wearing this?”

Kangwoo pulled up Heewoon’s jacket hood.

“No, I have a padded jacket in my bag.”

“Wear it when we get off.”

“Where are we going?”

Heewoon asked as Kangwoo took off his bag. Mountain, Kangwoo answered, putting the bag and shopping bag in the back seat.

“Why?”

Kangwoo’s eyes flickered with mischief.

“To bury you.”

“…Huh?”

Heewoon looked surprised. Kangwoo playfully kissed his cheek and hugged him again.

“I don’t know why it’s so cold. Your body’s frozen solid.”

That was a shameless remark. The weather was warm, and Heewoon wasn’t cold. Sometimes Kangwoo hugged Heewoon with strange excuses like this. It was a usual occurrence.

Heewoon rested his chin on Kangwoo’s shoulder and leaned against it. The large hand gently stroked his head.

Sometimes, a strange thought occurred in his mind, when his weight leaned into Seo Kangwoo’s sturdy shoulder. Heewoon felt as if he had been wishing for this so badly.

For the muscles that were always rigid to relax, for his fists to not clench, for his smile to not be forced. All things led to empower that peculiar thought and emotion.

“Are you tired?”

Heewoon nodded, his hair tickling Kangwoo’s chin. As if he understood the meaning of that action, Kangwoo let out a low hum. The fingers on the back of his head gently stroked through his hair.

Heewoon slowly lifted his head. At such a close distance, he could clearly see the affection on Kangwoo’s face.

Becoming someone that one could lean on was a difficult task. So hard, in fact, that there were many moments when Heewoon wanted to stop doing it. Each time he did, the image of his mother’s exhausted face reprimanded him. After swallowing each moment deeply, Heewoon found himself disliking who he was.

Heewoon didn’t know if he liked Seo Kangwoo because he was so different from himself. Unlike Heewoon, who lived in constant precariousness, Seo Kangwoo never seemed to falter even for a moment.

Heewoon wanted to be like him. Just looking at Kangwoo made him feel better. He felt like he could breathe. Even if the idea of himself suffocating wasn’t exactly clear at the time.

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